Volume 22, Issue 6 / June 2018

Fantasia 2017

Summer is well upon us, which can only mean one thing (or one REALLY good thing), the Fantasia International Film Festival is here (here being Montreal). Horror, Comedy, Anime, Martial Arts, Science-Fiction, and much more to tickle the fancy of the discerning genre fan. In fact as of this writing the 2018 edition is more than halfway through. What better time to recall what transpired at last year’s edition, with a special issue on Fantasia 2017. Randolph Jordan gets the ball rolling with a read-out on some of the hottest tickets at last year’s event, including the much hyped (and hype fulfilled!) Good Times by the Safdie brothers, the new 4K restoration (lovingly so) by Synapses Films of Suspiria, the restoration of Gary Sherman’s uncut Death Line, and more (including cool pics taken by Jordan himself of a recent Goblin concert). There are two interviews with directors whose works appeared at Fantasia, former Concordia film student Philippe McKie with his short films and Japanese animation filmmaker Masaaki Yuasa. The fourth Fantasia piece is my own appreciation of the film which won the AQCC (“Association québécoise des critiques de cinéma”) prize for the best film in the Camera Lucida section, A Ghost Story. While not part of the Fantasia coverage, the final article is clearly in the spirit of Fantasia, Peter Rist’s account of his 11th visit to the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), in its 42nd edition. Rest assured Offscreen is diligently attending the 2018 Fantasia Festival and preparing material for our 2018 coverage. (Donato Totaro, ed.)